Date: 16-June-2024
Name: Nelson Chibwe
Topic: WHEN GOD SAYS NO
Content:
WHEN GOD SAYS NO
2 Samuel 7: 1 – 17
After the king was settled in his palace and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies around him, 2 he said to Nathan the prophet, “Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent.”
3 Nathan replied to the king, “Whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it, for the Lord is with you.”
4 But that night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying:
5 “Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord says: Are you the one to build me a house to dwell in? 6 I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought the Israelites up out of Egypt to this day. I have been moving from place to place with a tent as my dwelling. 7 Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites, did I ever say to any of their rulers whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?”’
8 “Now then, tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty says: I took you from the pasture, from tending the flock, and appointed you ruler over my people Israel. 9 I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name great, like the names of the greatest men on earth. 10 And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at the beginning 11 and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders[a] over my people Israel. I will also give you rest from all your enemies.
“‘The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you: 12 When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by men, with floggings inflicted by human hands. 15 But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. 16 Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me[b]; your throne will be established forever.’”
17 Nathan reported to David all the words of this entire revelation.
A. Our DREAMS / God’s PLAN & TIMING
1. David’s DREAM – Build the Lord’s Temple.
o During the quiet time / David reflected on his life and all that the lord had given him / during that time – he caught the ambition to build the Lord’s temple:
“ he said to Nathan the prophet, “Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent.” 3 Nathan replied to the king, “Whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it, for the Lord is with you.”
1 Chronicles 28:2 - King David rose to his feet and said: “Listen to me, my fellow Israelites, my people. I had it in my heart to build a house as a place of rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord, for the footstool of our God, and I made plans to build it.
2. But GOD said NO.
o David had the dream – but it was a dream that went unfulfilled in his lifetime because God said NO.
o There was no selfish ambition in David’s dream. There was no ulterior motive. He wanted to honor God! To build a permanent home for the Ark / for the presence of God to dwell in.
3. Why did God Say NO?
o One would wonder why? Why did God say No to David – was it a question of sin? Was David wrong to begin with – wrong in thinking of building the temple?
1 Chronicles 28:2-3 - King David rose to his feet and said: “Listen to me, my fellow Israelites, my people. I had it in my heart to build a house as a place of rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord, for the footstool of our God, and I made plans to build it. But God said to me, ‘You are not to build a house for my Name, because you are a warrior and have shed blood.’
o It is not a question of being wrong. It's a question of accepting God's "no" and living with the mystery of His will. We people on this earth package everything. And we expect God to package His plan for us just like we would. We want the logic that we use to be His logic. And when it isn't, we wonder what's wrong because it's not working out like we would have worked it out.
4. Re-Direction / Not Rejection
o When God says no it is not necessarily discipline or rejection. It may simply be re-direction. You have pursued His will; you have wanted to do His will. With all good intentions you said, "By God's grace I am going to pursue this." And here you are, thirty or forty years later, or maybe only five years later, and it hasn't materialized.
o When you closely focus on God’s response / rejection you will see that:
§ God spent verses 8 to 11 highlighting the things that God has granted / called David to be. David was called to be a King / a Warrior / he was called for the Trenches.
§ In verses 11 – 16 – you will see God’s promise to David. Whilst David was caught with the dream of building a house for God – God’s plan was to build and establish David’s house.
Samuel 7: 11 – 13 “‘The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you: When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
o The thing we have to do in our walk with God is to listen carefully from day to day. Not just go back to some decision and say, "That's it forever, regardless." We need to look at it each day, keep it fresh, keep the fire hot, keep it on the back burner, saying, "Lord, is this Your arrangement? Is this Your plan? If it is not, make me sensitive to it. Maybe You're redirecting my life."
o That is what it entails to have – complete surrender in God.
o God does not call everyone to build temples / some are called to be soldiers – to be in the trenches / to build foundations. We are all equipped differently and for other factors – whatever that is – God will use you in a creative way to fulfil HIS plan.
B. Our RESPONSE / When God Says NO
1. David’s SAT before the LORD
o When Nathan delivered God’s revelation – David went before God – sat before God and engaged in conversation with the Lord / giving God praise – 2 Samuel 7: 18 – 27.
o Rather than wallowing in self-pity or bitterness regarding his unfulfilled dream, David praised God with a grateful heart.
o David chose to focus on what God had allowed him to do—to reign as king over Israel, to establish his son Solomon over the kingdom, and to pass the dream on to him (1 Chronicles 28:4–8). David praised the greatness of God, thanking Him for His many blessings, and then interceded for the people of Israel and their new king, Solomon.
2. David accepted God’s PLAN and played a part in God’s Plan.
o Not only did David go before God and intercede for his nation and God’s chosen “temple-builder” – David took it further and made sure that he laid the foundations and played his part in God’s Plan.
o 1 Chronicles 22 talks about the preparations for the temple:
2 So David gave orders to assemble the foreigners residing in Israel, and from among them he appointed stonecutters to prepare dressed stone for building the house of God. 3 He provided a large amount of iron to make nails for the doors of the gateways and for the fittings, and more bronze than could be weighed. 4 He also provided more cedar logs than could be counted, for the Sidonians and Tyrians had brought large numbers of them to David.
5 David said, “My son Solomon is young and inexperienced, and the house to be built for the Lord should be of great magnificence and fame and splendor in the sight of all the nations. Therefore I will make preparations for it.” So David made extensive preparations before his death.
6 Then he called for his son Solomon and charged him to build a house for the Lord, the God of Israel. 7 David said to Solomon: “My son, I had it in my heart to build a house for the Name of the Lord my God. 8 But this word of the Lord came to me: ‘You have shed much blood and have fought many wars. You are not to build a house for my Name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in my sight. 9 But you will have a son who will be a man of peace and rest, and I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side. His name will be Solomon,[a] and I will grant Israel peace and quiet during his reign. 10 He is the one who will build a house for my Name. He will be my son, and I will be his father. And I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.’
11 “Now, my son, the Lord be with you, and may you have success and build the house of the Lord your God, as he said you would. 12 May the Lord give you discretion and understanding when he puts you in command over Israel, so that you may keep the law of the Lord your God. 13 Then you will have success if you are careful to observe the decrees and laws that the Lord gave Moses for Israel. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged.
14 “I have taken great pains to provide for the temple of the Lord a hundred thousand talents[b] of gold, a million talents[c] of silver, quantities of bronze and iron too great to be weighed, and wood and stone. And you may add to them. 15 You have many workers: stonecutters, masons and carpenters, as well as those skilled in every kind of work 16 in gold and silver, bronze and iron—craftsmen beyond number. Now begin the work, and the Lord be with you.”
17 Then David ordered all the leaders of Israel to help his son Solomon. 18 He said to them, “Is not the Lord your God with you? And has he not granted you rest on every side? For he has given the inhabitants of the land into my hands, and the land is subject to the Lord and to his people. 19 Now devote your heart and soul to seeking the Lord your God. Begin to build the sanctuary of the Lord God, so that you may bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord and the sacred articles belonging to God into the temple that will be built for the Name of the Lord.”
o What are you doing with God’s re-direction of your life? What part are you playing in ensuring God’s Plan is fulfilled?
o Though some dreams remain unfulfilled, a man or woman of God can respond to His "no" with praise, thanksgiving, and intercession . . . because when a dream dies, nothing of God's purposes die.
· For further reading about the above, I strongly recommend the Book: Charles R. Swindoll - “David: A Man of Passion & Destiny”.
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